


Everyone Decompresses in Their Own Way

by boltschick2612



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Booty Calls, M/M, Sexting, Tampa Bay Lightning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-07
Updated: 2016-04-07
Packaged: 2018-05-31 18:55:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6483115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boltschick2612/pseuds/boltschick2612
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone needs something to take the edge off, to dull the pain of losing, being hurt, or losing while being hurt.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Everyone Decompresses in Their Own Way

**Author's Note:**

> Kinda inspired by [Decompress ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6329941), wherein Val heavily implies he de-stresses with sex, but could also be read as a stand alone fic.
> 
> Written to take place not too long ago, when the Lightning were going through a losing streak and Filppula was also out with an upper body injury. I also plan on updating this soon with at least one more chapter. 
> 
> Fiction is fiction and thanks for reading!

They're losing, and what's worse, Val has to watch it all happen from the press box. It's not the first time his team has gone through a slump, and it's not even the first time he's been hurt, but he's pretty sure it's the first time the two things have coincided. He somehow feels like everything would be different if he could just lace up his skates, step out on the ice, and take a few shifts. Maybe he's wrong, or maybe not, but the uncertainty is making his skin crawl and his body ache for some type of release from the mounting pressure that had been building up and threatening to boil over.

He's been pouring all his energy into the few non-contact shifts he's been allowed at practice, leaving him drained, and not even in a good way. Not in the way that it usually does. Val needs something more. Laying in bed and staring at the ceiling just isn't going to cut it. It isn't going to ease the tension he has wrought through every limb and every fibre of his being.

What he needs is to work his body in a different way; to be pushed, pulled, and stretched until he's satisfied.

His fingers are almost aching to reach for the cell phone resting on the bedside table, and scroll through the list of contacts until he finds a willing participant. Briefly, he considers the fact that his old team is currently in town, and he still has Henrik’s number, but sex with an ex is everything Val doesn't need right now.

Well, thoughts alone without actions aren't going to do anything for him, and so he finally reaches for his phone.

His fingers keep scrolling through the not so long list of contacts on his phone, and they get almost all the way to the bottom, where the phone numbers aren't attached to a name, just other numbers instead.

5\. 6. 9. 11.

He gets all the way to 30 before he stops and pauses.

It's not that weird to try texting Ben, right? Best case scenario, he agrees, and worst case, Val can lie and say the message was intended for someone else, or that he was drunk, depending how personal things get.

He still remembers the look Ben gave him when they started talking about the different ways they decompress, and Val had heavily alluded to the fact that his was sex. He had been slightly prepared to defend himself, and make some sharp quip about how the workout sex provides is better for you than the many empty calories found in chocolate, which everyone knew was Ben's vice, but he hadn't needed to. The look he found in Ben's face wasn't judgemental, but he'd be damned if he could place it. Even after all the times he had thought about it since, and there'd been many, Val still couldn't quite pin down the feeling that went with the look. He just knew how it made him feel, and it was one of the best feelings he's had in weeks.

Before he even knows what he's doing, Val's pulling up Ben's number, typing out a short message, and pushing send.

**From: V.Filppula**

**To: 30**

_You awake?_

The responding ping comes almost immediately, giving Val his answer.

 

**From: B.Bishop**

**To: Fil**

_Depends?_

Val really hates it when people answer a question with a question, but he decides to let Ben get away with it. Just this once.

 

**From: V.Filppula**

**To: 30**

_You answered._

 

**From: B.Bishop**

**To: Fil**

_You might be broken down on the side of the road and everyone else you texted before me hasn't answered?_

Another unnecessary question mark, and Val can almost hear the sarcastic tone of Ben's voice ringing in his head, until it's cut short by another sharp notification coming from his phone.

 

**From: B.Bishop**

**To: Fil**

_Well?_

 

**From: V.Filppula**

**To: 30**

_Been into the chocolates lately?_

 

**From: B.Bishop**

**To: Fil**

_Fuck off, Fil._

 

**From: V.Filppula**

**To: 30**

_That wasn't an insult…_

 

**From: B.Bishop**

**To: Fil**

_Better not be. Anyways, what did you need?_

 

**From: V.Filppula**

**To: 30**

_I was asking if you had been feeling the need to decompress lately._

 

**From: B.Bishop**

**To: Filp**

_Oh?_

The phone is silent for a few minutes, and Val isn't sure if Ben fell asleep, or got mad and decided to ignore him out of spite. Either way, it doesn't appear that Ben has caught on to his meaning.

Or, at least that's what Val thinks, until his phone beeps once again.

 

**From: B.Bishop**

**To: Fil**

_Oh!_

Anyways, back to business.

 

**From: V.Filppula**

**To: 30**

_Yeah. Some people say it's better than chocolate._

 

**From: B.Bishop**

**To: Fil**

_I think the saying is that something is better than sex._

 

**From: V.Filppula**

**To: 30**

_There aren't many things that fit that description._

 

**From: B.Bishop**

**To: Fil**

_Winning the Cup might be._

 

**From: V.Filppula**

**To: 30**

_Been there, done that._

 

**From: B.Bishop**

**To: Fil**

_So what you're telling me is…?_

 

**From: V.Filppula**

**To: 30**

_I'm not telling you anything. I'm asking._

 

**From: B.Bishop**

**To: Fil**

_Don't make me wait outside when I get there. It's unusually cold out._

**Author's Note:**

> I'm also on [Tumblr](http://ryangcallahan.tumblr.com), if you're interested.


End file.
